Whatever Happens In Game 7, the Toronto Maple Leafs Already Won

The Toronto Maple should be moving on to the second round after an impressive defeat of the Tampa Bay Lightning in game six.

Unfortunately, bad luck and bush-league officiating prevented the Toronto Maple Leafs from technically winning the game.

The Leafs – with all their baggage – came out against the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions and played their hearts out.  They met the challenge and exceeded it.

Just one problem: they didn’t actually win the game.

So it’s back to Toronto for game seven.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Tampa Bay Lightning

One of the reasons that teams who lead a series 3-2 win 80% of the time is because they’ve put themselves in position to have two cracks at a win.  That’s what the Leafs need to focus on heading back for game seven.

Sure, it’s ridiculous to ask a team to beat the Champs five times in order to move on, but that is the task set before the Leafs at this time.

It’s so funny, every criticism this team has faced – about their salary cap, about the players they invested in, their coach, GM, style of play etc. – has been answered.  The Leafs management was right, their (worst) fans were wrong, but the team will have to come out and prove that, once again, Saturday, or no one will care.

Last night’s game was yet another come-from-behind scenario by a team that is one of the most resilient ever assembled.  They seriously never quit, which is why only another officiating debacle can prevent them from winning their fifth game of the series tomorrow night.

The Leafs have now forced overtime by overcoming multi-goal deficits three straight times, and they’ve lost all three games.  It’s the kind of bad luck only this team could have.

But if we talking about luck, we’ve got to mention that the only reason Tampa was able to force overtime last night was because of a supposed high stick that hit the Lightning  player’s shoulder and an acting job that was obvious to everyone not carrying a whistle.

Down two men on zero deserved penalties, the Leafs were of course unable to prevent Tampa from tying the game.  Tampa was then allowed a blatant too many men on the ice exception, and were not assessed a penalty on multiple egregious infractions including one now infamous incident of offensive zone waterskiing on the league’s most expensive boat.

OK the bad penalty I can accept, but where is the make-up call that always comes when that happens?  How is it that the Leafs are the first team in NHL history to get two bad penalties called against them without a power-play to make up for it?  Especially when Tampa was blatantly taking penalties for the entire third period and overtime.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost a game last season (game six as well) where they outshot their opponent 12-1 in overtime, and lost on a knucklepuck from 80 feet out, while one of their players laid on the ice with an uncalled elbow to the head.

This year, different script, same outcome.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs cannot make it to the second round of the playoffs, it’s through no fault of their own.  Given just semi-competent officiating, from a billion-dollar league, and they’d already have made it there twice.

So there really shouldn’t be any pressure for game seven.  They deserved to win, they should have won, and they now know that they are capable of winning.  And if Tampa happens to win their bonus game……. well you can’t help it when you get screwed.